The AKC Canine Health Foundation and VetVine have made the free webinar on mental stimulation in dogs available to watch on demand. Presenter, Dr. Karen Overall, MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB is the Editor-In-Chief of the Jounral of Veterinary Behavior – Clinical Applications and Research. This webinar teaches the importance of mental stimulation in dogs and […]
The Hempstead Town Board is continuing to debate a proposal that would regulate breeders, pet sellers, and mandate the sterilization of dogs prior to sale- even if they are only 8 weeks old. Residents of the Town of Hempstead are encouraged to contact the Hempstead Town Board as soon as possible and respectfully ask them to […]
Granted it’s an effort to get your terriers across the Atlantic to compete in the World Dog Show. First you have to find an accredited vet to fill out the USDA paperwork; then have that stamped and finalized within the ten day time limit before departure by APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). That’s just part of it.
Daytime and evening tickets are on sale now for the 2015 AKC/EUKANUBA National Championship (AENC), which returns to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center this December 12th and 13th. Simultaneously, the premium list is also available today to competitors. Both tickets and premium list can be found at www.akc.org. The only dog show hosted by the American Kennel Club, AENC, with its long […]
AKC Canine Health Foundation Contributing Funding to Research Linked to Discovering New Treatment Options The AKC Canine Health Foundation is pleased to announce findings from CHF-funded research grant 1889-G is impacting both canine and human health. A paper published September 16, 2015 in Genome Research by Elvers et al details results of a collaboration between eight U.S. and international institutions of veterinary and […]
By Amy Fernandez Anyone acquainted with our sport knows that the first dog show happened in 1859. However, like most conventionally accepted historical facts, the truth is kinda, sorta different. “The Sporting Dog Show” staged at the Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne on June 28 and 29, 1859 was actually an afterthought tacked on to a wildly […]
Pack a room full of Chinese Crested and you can expect a giant heap of sleeping dogs. Pack a room full of Crested fanciers and wait for the fireworks. It’s ironic that a breed famed for its sociable, placid nature inevitably sparks such contentious battles. Quite possibly, their single point of agreement is the fact that Crested type is all over the map. Of course, this situation is not unique to the Crested world. But the drastic nature of this case provides a sterling example of the extreme polarities that evolve under the heading of purebred continuity.
Conformation shows and clubs are struggling with declining entries. Exhibitors and club members seem to be older now than they used to be, purebred registrations are a third of what they were 20 years ago, and there are few newcomers to the scene. These are all clear indicators that our culture has changed. Prevailing cultures and societal values generally drift slowly, but sometimes single events or factors at the right time lead to a more sudden paradigm shift. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book on this phenomenon, The Tipping Point. Was there some single event that turned the tide of change in the public’s attitudes towards purebred dogs?
Breed standards are written with the purpose of describing, in as much detail as possible, the mature dog. I believe we would all be hard pressed to find any fault with that assumption. But let me ask, have parent clubs been remiss in not addressing the need for breed standards for puppies? Most dogs are purchased at ages far younger than where they could reasonably be expected to have achieved the maturity described in the breed standard.
